Tainted Stars
by Crystal-Cinders
Summary: When Touko left without a word, her little sister Mei snapped under the pressure and ran off. She reappeared a year later as a fully-fledged actor under the name Rosa Grey, but even though her acting is brilliant, her heart is frozen. Rosa's sworn off love, but maybe the reappearance of her sister and two charming boys might change that. (FerrisWheel/LiveCaster/SequelShipping)


Once upon a time, I had a sister whose heart was broken into thousands of millions of little, brittle glass shards by a charming man with unruly tea-green hair.

I told myself I wouldn't have the same fate.

So I wrapped myself in the silken sheets of popularity, becoming a girl behind a golden mask. My sister's heart was glass; mine is made of flawless titanium.

All everyone sees is the enigmatic girl that graces the red carpets at the movie premieres and the front covers of fashion magazines. They don't know the plain, ordinary girl underneath—but then again, I don't want them to.

My sister took the path of a Pokémon trainer, and through that choice she found her soaring success . . . and destructive downfall. Her name was Touko White, and she was once the Unova Champion.

I chose a different path. I became an appreciator of the arts; an actor. It's perfect, considering how everything in my life is just a role, even now. I even changed my name. I used to be Mei White.

_Now I'm Rosa Grey._

* * *

I meet my co-star's lips with my own, but the feeling is empty. Yet, to the viewers, the kiss will look hurried and full to desire, just like the director wants.

As I pull back, someone yells "Cut!" and the whole film team bustles into action. I'm rushed away to makeup, where powders and salves are pasted onto my calm, pale face. My co-star, however, is flushed. He has a crush on me; I will not act on it.

An hour later we reshoot a scene where I run down a busy street in Castelia city—we are not actually in Castelia though, just a studio room set up to look like it. The scene that has just been retaken was the final shooting of the film, and now my work here is done.

I return to my villa in Himalu City—the sound of the waves underneath my stilted house are the only comfort to me. I was only twelve when my sister left on my journey; thirteen when she had her heart broken and ran away; sixteen when I left my mother to fend for herself at home as I walked off into the sunset to find myself.

The only companion I have is a glaceon. She was a friendly eevee I got as a gift from my sister when I was eleven. Ever since she evolved, she's become as cold and indifferent as me. It suits her though. She is an ice-type, after all, and she is the only one I can relate to. Glaceon and I are not partners, but we are not enemies. We walk a fine line in between the two.

The following days are empty, without any current job prospects. Glaceon and I visit Castelia City, where I get swarmed by dedicated fans. I sign autographs until sunset, then I take a cruise on the Royal Unova. Some odd trainers on board see glaceon and challenge us to a battle.

They all fall like dominoes.

Glaceon's strength is on par with my popularity. I'm a household name; glaceon can take down legions of foes without breaking a sweat.

Sometimes, when I'm in a good mood, I don't acknowledge glaceon as _glaceon_ but rather as _Blue_. It is times like this when we reminisce that we are truly friends before we lapse back into frosty stone silence.

The day after I'm offered a job. The prospect is nothing short of a multimillion blockbuster, based on a series of popular teen fiction books. I was reluctant to take the part—I had loved the book series when I was younger, and this film would take me back to my past—but I took it eventually. That past _has_ burnt, along with my former self. I have had no ties to this book series before, and that is it.

A week before we start shooting the book-to-movie-adaption with the fake name of _Falling Comets_, I have my movie premiere for the movie I finished almost a third of the year ago.

It is a choreographed dance to me: get out the limousine; pose for the paparazzi; smile prettily and charm the interviewers; sign paper and skin with my inked autograph; walk into the dark depths of the cinema.

Tonight I wear a dress of pure white. It is feathered and silky with two silver chokers band around my neck; the whole thing is designed after Reshiram and I _loathe_ it, but my PR insisted.

_Reshiram let my sister down._

_Reshiram let her heart be broken._

_Reshiram let Zekrom and my sister's lover get away._

I flirt emptily with a handsome interviewer standing behind one of the gates. Out of the corner of my eye, I see my co-star looking at me, trying to mask his jealousy.

Ah, no one can read emotions as well as I can. No one is as good as masking them as I am, either.

I watch the movie and clap politely when it is finished. Supposedly, I might be getting a PokéAward for that film. It is a nice thought, I suppose.

I don't linger around for the after party and instead choose to go home. I rip off the god-forsaken white dress and stalk around my house in nothing but my underwear. Then I curl up on the glass window in the middle of my villa floor and silently mourn all that I've lost.

I'll never get it back.

* * *

**This is actually a re-write of my story 'Watching the Stars'. This new version is actually going to be a lot more dramatic than the old one, and Rosa's going to be quite cold - I know she's usually a chirpy girl in the other stories and she was a chirpy girl before her sister had her broken though. **

**It is actually going to be a Touko/N fic as well as an odd love triangle between Rosa, Hyuu and Curtis/Tetsu. **

**Also the title has two meanings and I love it. Obviously there's the plain, obvious interpretation, but I'd much rather think of it as stars (celebrities) and tainted (slowly decaying, being poisoned and falling from grace). Because every single person in this story will take a fall or two. **

**Regardless, Enjoy!**


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